A Cold,Flaming Passion
by HookfangTheAlpha
Summary: A dragon with a cold past now only seeks power. A merchant's daughter who wants freedom gets her wish...at a price. When these two met they will experience a world different from their own while changing one another.
1. Prologue

Prologue

I had always wished that the world would one day accept me for who I was. My soul would make me wish for nothing more than to be accepted. But my instincts knew deep down that the world would never accept me.

That it'd curse me until its last breath.

After centuries of wishing and hoping I finally decided that there was no point in trying to make the world accept me and let my instincts take control of me,leading me down a dark path of power and greed and destruction.

I have killed people and dragons alike for my own amusement,stole gold from the richest of kings and tried to steal power of all the dragons,earning my name Frendyr the Dark. My soul has dwindled away as my instincts grew to the point where I was no longer I beast able to reason but a beast of death itself.

I have been like this for so long that when I had to change for her,it was impossible.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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**Author's note: Before I continue this story I want to be clear on something. This story is NOT in any way related to the Eragon series. Since Fanfiction doesn't have the option to pick "original work" I had to go with the closest thing to it. Now with all that out the way,hope you enjoy the story.**

* * *

Frendyr

Frendyr laid down in his cave in the mountain tops waiting as the cold,biting winds of winter swirled and howled outside. His home was dark,dreary and cold though the fire within him managed to fend off the cold.

The treasure that he had stolen from mighty kings long ago glimmered and glinted as bits of the light from outside came inside the cave. It seemed to be an hour or so later before the winds slowly died down until they were only a gentle breeze.

He heaved himself up from the cave floor and slowly walked towards the entrance.

The night was surprisingly beautiful,the stars shining brighter than ever and the moon blinded those below with its brilliance. He sniffed the cold air but smelt nothing out of the ordinary. He placed himself at the edge of the cave,looking at the snow-covered mountains as the snowflakes slowly fell from the sky and the brisk wind pushed them around.

_I __suppose I should remark my territory _he thought to himself.

He flared his enormous wings before leaping off the edge and flying into the air. He flew north-east from his cave towards the first marking of his territory. Despite him ruling all of the snowy mountains,both dragons and humans were either trying to go into his territory or,in the dragon case,trying to take over.

He flew lazily,seemingly gliding,towards the forest at the base of his mountains. He leaned his body and circled the forest once before landing on the outside. He lowered his head close to the trees,opened his mouth to blow a low flame out.

The trees,leaves and bushes that came in contact with the fire rapidly turned black. He moved his head back from the flame that was now dwindling quickly with the wind now building up. Satisfied with the scorch marks,he raised his leg up and scratched each tree several times until almost all the bark of the trees was scratched off.

He turned to the east then flared his wings open and began to leap forward when the wind changed and Frendyr's nostrils flared as he caught a scent.

Wings and legs locked in place as he shot his head into the air to sample the wind. What he scented made him freeze in place as he scented an intruder in his territory and not just any intruder.

He had smelled a dragon.

Each dragon had their own unique smell that identified them but due to the lingering smoke from the charred trees and bushes,Frendyr couldn't get the exact scent of the dragon. He did,however,know that this dragon was going to regret coming into his territory. Looking to the west,Frendyr watched the skies as if the sky itself would reveal the intruder while the wind sang a haunting song.

Scenting the air,Frendyr leapt into the air and quickly flew out west,following the trail trying to hone in on the exact spot where his prey must be,being either very ignorant or very foolish,to come into his territory.

As if the land was with him,the wind picked up and brought Frendyr the scent once again,telling him he was heading in the right direction,and also giving him a stronger sample of the scent.

What he smelled afterward made him growl angrily.

The scent belonged to none other than Zekos the Spark.

Frendyr never liked Zekos for he was one of the few dragons who not only disrespected him but tried to defy him at every given moment. He had let it slide in the past because Zekos was much stronger than him and Frendyr knew that challenging him would result in him very well dying.

_But now I am stronger than he will ever be and today he will learn that._

Frendyr grinned to himself and forced himself to fly faster to the location of Zekos. He eventually came close to the spot and realised that he was near the third marking of his territory and the trail that the humans used sometimes try to use to get into the mountains.

He raised his head up. Circling above his third marking was Zekos. His yellow scales were practically a beacon in the dark blue sky and swirling white snow. Frendyr hovered in the air and roared loudly. He wanted Zekos to know he was here. He wanted this to be a fair fight,well as fair as it could be,for when he killed him it would make his victory much more sweeter.

He saw Zekos stop circling above the marking and turn his head at him,his baby blue eyes staring at him. He flew over to Frendyr with that obnoxious smile that Frendyr always wanted to wipe off.

_And now I'll have that chance._

"Frendyr,how marvelous to see you. I was actually just looking for you."Zekos said,his voice light and almost sounded as though the wind carried every word. "Forgive me if I have a hard time believing that. My cave is more to the west and not above one of my territory markings."Frendyr replied dryly. Zekos threw back his head and laughed,the sound high pitched and incredibly annoying to Frendyr. "Well with all this blowing snow one can easily get lost and never be found."Zekos said as his eyes glittered dangerously.

Frendyr bristled at the disguised threat but said nothing about it.

"Leave my territory at once Zekos and perhaps you will live to see another sunrise."Frendyr ordered darkly. "And what if I wish not to leave?"Zekos asked dropping his smile completely. "Then you will wish you had."he replied. He tensed his body and readied himself. "As much as I love listening to you,I think I'm going to ignore your advice and instead take your territory!"

With that,Zekos shot towards him. Frendyr,already ready,moved the the side then thrusted his head forward as Zekos flew past him and clamped his jaw on his shoulder. Zekos roared and swerved wildly in the air,trying to get Frendyr off,but he tightened his grip. Zekos angled his body upward at shot up high into the sky carrying Frendyr with him.

Instantly,Frendyr knew what Zekos was trying to do.

Frendyr removed his jaw from Zekos' shoulder as he planted his hind legs onto Zekos' lower back,digging his claws into Zekos',and his front legs on his shoulders and tried to use his weight to pull Zekos backward but Zekos was much stronger than he appeared and managed to stay on course as they shot up above the cloud level.

Zekos threw his head back and roared shrilly. Lightning shot down from the sky and onto Zekos,spreading and simmering. Frendyr pushed off Zekos a second before the lightning exploded around him encasing him in a bright ball of lightning. Once the light dimmed,he looked at Zekos. Lightning rippled across his entire body,as though he was made from it.

He laughed.

"Do you wish to still fight me now Frendyr?"he asked. "Your power will not save you from death itself."Frendyr replied then shot towards him. Zekos opened his mouth and shot bolts of lightning at Frendyr. He spun and swirled away from the lightning attacks and breath a torrent of flames at Zekos.

He dodged the flames then flew towards Frendyr faster than any dragon could fly,due to his lightning power,and slammed hard into him. Upon coming into contact with Zekos' lightning Frendyr's body began to spasm and jerk and he roared in pain.

He felt Zekos clamp his jaws on Frendyr neck and pull him down to the ground at blinding speed. He clawed at Zekos' muzzle,trying to make him let go,but it was ineffective. At some point,Zekos let go of him and,unable to get airborne in time,his back collide heavily with the ground.

He grimaced and growled in annoyance then slowly rolled over and got to his feet. "It seems that you have gotten weaker over the centuries Frendyr."Zekos said as he landed on the ground. The lightning on him seemed to swell in size as he landed.

Frendyr really hated lightning dragons for this very reason. If you wanted to kill them,you had to do so before they summoned their power otherwise hitting them would only hurt yourself more than it would hurt them.

_I __am not letting Zekos' powers grant him another day to live_ Frendyr thought fiercely. But he didn't know how he could kill Zekos without potentially injuring himself.

Then he remembered something he had learned years ago.

Lightning dragons could not be in water or they would be electrocuted and die. The closest place with water was two miles away from where he was and he knew that Zekos could easily outfly him and take him down should he think of flying. He then became acutely aware of the snow underneath his feet and an idea popped in his head.

_This is going to hurt but it's my only option_.

He planted his feet firmly on the ground,flared his wings open,closed his eyes and chanted the ancient words to summon one of his powers.

_Summon the fire that bears no cold that shall make the weak become the bold. _

The fire within started to become hotter and grow inside him. He could faintly hear the footsteps of Zekos running at him,taking complete advantage of Frendyr leaving himself vulnerable. The fire spread across his body then exploded in a huge heat wave pushing Zekos back.

He opened his eyes and took himself in.

The air around him was shimmering from how hot his body was and the snow near him melted into water. He turned to face an annoyed Zekos and smiled. "Zekos my friend,you seem quite annoyed at the moment." Zekos snarled at him then charged towards him. Frendyr opened his jaw and shot a blaze of fire,not at Zekos,but at the snow surrounding him.

Zekos laughed.

"Seems like you forgot how to aim yo-"he cut himself off with a roar as one of his feet submerged into the water and the lightning on his foot exploded then disappeared entirely. Frendyr could see that his foot was shaking and Zekos couldn't seem to put it down on the ground. Zekos looked at his foot,then at the ground around him for a long moment.

A look of realisation crossed onto his face and he looked dead straight into Frendyr's eyes with a look of intense fear.

Frendyr let a dark smile cross on his face.

In a quick motion,Zekos turned and shot towards the sky. _Oh no you don't_ Frendyr thought as he shot from the ground after Zekos. He shot jets of flames at Zekos who was dodging them endlessly until one finally hit him directly on the back. Even though the fire didn't burn him due to fireproof scales the increased heat caused great discomfort by the look of it as Zekos cried in pain.

He brought his head down underneath his chest and shot bolts of lightning at Frendyr. Frendyr shot another jet of flames at the lightning bolts. The lightning shot through the flame,like a hot knife in butter,and towards him but he quickly dodged to the side. Zekos,however,wasn't as quick and the flame hit him right in the face. He stopped,both blinded and hurt by the flame.

It was all Frendyr needed to catch up to Zekos.

He stopped in front of him then rushed into Zekos grasping his claws into Zekos' forearms and pushing him down to the ground,his lightning powers causing only a sting. "No! Let me go!"Zekos yelled,rolling and bucking to get out of Frendyr's grip but didn't succeed. Frendyr arched his head back then lunged forward and bit into Zekos' shoulder blade hard and twisted his head sideways,popping the wing out its socket.

Zekos roared in a mixture of pain and anger.

He went to bite him on his neck then recoiled as the heat radiating off Frendyr burned him. Frendyr smiled evilly at the hopeless lightning dragon and darkly whispered,"I'll see you soon in High Heavens."

He removed his claws from Zekos' forearms and pushed him away.

He hovered in the air watching as Zekos began freefalling straight towards the huge pool of water. He twisted and turned upright,trying to fly up,but with his dislocated wing all he could do was claw the air. Zekos dropped like a boulder into the pool of water and instantly sparks flew from the water.

Even from high in the sky,Frendyr could still hear the shriek of pure agony as Zekos was being electrocuted. The smell of burning flesh,scales and smoke filled the air so strongly that Frendyr knew he wouldn't be able to smell anything else for a while.

After a moment,the shrieks of agony died down to nothing. _That was quicker than I had wished_ Frendyr thought slightly disappointed as he dove down to Zekos. He landed onto the snow which immediately hissed while it came into contact with his overheated body.

He closed his eyes and forced his body down to its normal body heat then walked to Zekos. Despite the smoke,Frendyr's sharp eyesight allowed him to see.

Zekos was laying on his side,openmouthed and eyes barely open. His flesh and scales were blackened and bits were even turned to ash revealing bone and organs. He stopped in front of him. Zekos slowly opened his eyes a little more and looked at Frendyr.

"Look Frendyr...I'm sorry for...always disrespecting you and...trying to take...over your territory…but please don't...kill me."He begged,his voice hoarse and lowering in volume. Frendyr looked at him for a long time that he could see the flicker of hope in Zekos' eyes.

Lowering his head close to Zekos' ear,he whispered,"Compared to what I had planned for you,this is an easy death."

He moved his jaw to Zekos neck and,in one motion,bit down and snapped his neck.

He watched satisfied as he saw the remaining bit of life in Zekos' eyes faded away,leaving them blank and lifeless.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zygit

Zygit's head snapped from his carcass at the sky as he felt something within him fade away. As though a piece of his body was being torn apart from him.

He knew the feeling very well by now.

_Someone else has passed into the High Heavens._

"Has someone passed into the High Heavens?"his mate,Uga,asked. He nodded. She sighed and looked on as her mate laid down on the grass,resting his head on his forearms. He closed his eyes,took a deep breath then looked within himself.

His consciousness was a white and ghostly silhouette of his own self while he felt the small orbs of the souls and instincts of every single dragon inside,bright and vibrating with life.

Every single dragon that was except Zekos.

He pushed his consciousness closer and searched Zekos' soul and instinct for any sign of life but found none. All he found were traces of fire and darkness on his soul and instincts. He knew exactly what had happened to Zekos.

He opened his eyes while getting up,took a big deep breath then threw back his head and roared. The roar was deep,loud and powerful that the ground itself seemed to tremble underneath him. The roar was meant to be a call to the dragons,to gather and discuss something bad.

And that bad thing today would be Frendyr again.

"Let us go."he said to Uga. She nodded and leaped into the air,flying into the sky. He rolled his shoulders as he prepared to bound forward into flight. This was one of the occasions where he envied the Drakes,where they could leap up from a standstill with four legs he had to bound forward in order to get his wings up and ready before leaping up.

He turned around and bounded out of the forest,wings raised up,then leaped up into the sky and pushed his large wings in a downward stroke then was airborne. He made a sharp right turn north and flew quickly towards the Eclipse Rock,the place where all dragons would gather. As he flew towards the Eclipse Rock he thought over what he discovered.

_Zekos is dead and his killer is undoubtedly Frendyr_ Zygit told himself. Over the centuries,exactly half of all the dragons that had existed were been killed by Frendyr. The first few times,they all suspected that the deaths were the results of territorial disputes so they didn't put much regard into it. But when dragons such as Elta and Dongr,dragons who he knew weren't territorial or aggressive in the slightest,were killed by Frendyr he knew that these deaths weren't just territorial disputes.

It was starting to worry him now and he knew they may have to take action. The peaks of the mountains that surrounded the Eclipse Rock soon appeared on the horizon. He flew up over the mountain peaks then hovered above. The inside of the ringed mountains was empty,almost as if a dragon took its foot and carved out all the stone,while twenty wide stone ledges sprouted from the surrounded mountains that connected to a tall,wide rock pillar in the center.

He looked to the ridge of the mountains and saw three other dragons flying towards the stone ledges. Even though the sun was glaring right to him,he was able to see who they were: Osoti,Nidro and Eozas.

He looked over at Uga and they flew to the other dragons and hovered above the Rock Eclipse. "Hello Zygit the Powerful one and Uga the Brightness."Osoti,Nidro and Eozas greeted in unison. "Hello Osoti the Tornado,Nidro the Toxic and Eozas the Cold One."Zygit and Uga greeted back before they all broke apart and flew to their respective ledges.

Zygit landed on the rock pillar and wrapped his tail closely around his feet as he patiently waited for the other dragons to arrive. He looked up into the sky,wondering if Zekos was watching them from the High Heavens.

_You may have been an arrogant and simple-minded fool but you will still be missed,young one._

Twenty minutes later,Iseross and Sergeta had arrived then another twenty minutes passed before Uddrorath arrived too. _Late as ever,brother_ Zygit thought as Uddrorath came. Zygit looked at the ledge that belonged to Frendyr and sighed. He knew that Frendyr wasn't coming to their gathering as he had stopped coming to them for the past century.

_It would make sense that he stopped coming_ Zygit thought. _After all,he's the one that's been killing all these dragons._

Once all of them were on their ledges,Zygit cleared his throat and spoke loudly. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Zekos the Spark has passed into the High Heavens. He could see the sadness and shock written on some of their faces. "How did he die,Zygit?"Osoti asked him. Zygit sighed,knowing how the other dragons weren't going to like hearing what he was going to say. "Frendyr the Dark killed him."he replied.

Growls and roars of anger erupted from the dragons below.

"Why in the heavens is Frendyr killing us?"Uddrorath fumed. "Are we not his kind?" "Blazing flames,he's like Osot reborn!"Nidro swore. Not wanting things to get out of control,Zygit stomped his foot on the rock then bellowed,"Silence!" All the dragons instantly settled down. "I know you all are upset,"he said to them. "But in situations like these,we must keep a leveled head." The dragons glanced at each other,muttering,but nothing more.

"Do we know why Frendyr killed him at the very least?"Iseross asked him. Zygit sighed. "I do not know why Frendyr killed him but I will go and talk to him."Zygit told them. "I don't know if that is a good idea Zygit."Osoti said to him. Zygit looked at him,confused. "And why is that Osoti?"he asked. Osoti took a step forward on his ledge before speaking. "For centuries,Frendyr has been killing dragons for reasons we don't know. He is a mindless,killing beast and at this point there is no hope for him. I say we kill him before he puts our entire race to extinction."

Several voices yelled their agreement with Osoti. He waited until they quieted before he spoke. "I know that you all agree with what Osoti said and I respect your thoughts and opinions. But killing Frendyr would only prove that we are just like him,mindless killing beasts as you said Osoti. I,also,highly doubt that Frendyr would kill all of us. After all,he is a dragon just like us and he wouldn't want to be the sole living dragon in the world."

"Blazing flames Zygit! How could you say something like that!"Uddrorath cried loudly. "Look around you brother! All these empty ledges were once occupied by dragons now gone because of Frendyr. Most of those dragons weren't even aggressive so you cannot say that they could've died from a territorial dispute. Blazing flames,we've even had some of our kin fly deeper into the world hiding from Frendyr's killing!" Zygit shook his head in annoyance. "I understand that what Frendyr is doing is not right but killing him without at least knowing why he's killing us is wrong and only proving that we're like him."he replied. "I'm starting to believe that father raised a coward instead of a leader! No wonder he left us."Uddrorath retorted.

The entire mountaintop fall in a deathly silence as Zygit's head snapped towards Uddrorath.

In one quick motion,he jumped off his rock pillar and landed on Uddrorath's ledge hard enough that it shook. Now Uddrorath seemed to understand the wrong he did and was now apologizing. "Zygit,my brother,I didn't mean to say that. I only meant that you should fight him or something..."he rambled on nervously.

Zygit walked towards Uddrorath,almost menacingly,until he was inches away from him,towering over him,wings flared and teeth bared before his snout. "Don't you ever bring our old one into our discussions or question my leadership ever again! Do you understand?"Zygit asked,his voice cold and low. "I understand Zygit the Powerful One."Uddrorath said quietly.

Zygit nodded then turned and flew to his rock pillar before tucking his wings close to his body and speaking to the dragons. "I will speak to Frendyr today. If he does not change after this final warning then I will consider taking action."Zygit said to them all. He looked at each of them dead in their eyes before adding,"The gathering is finished. Let us take a moment to mourn Zekos the Spark. A stubborn fool but one that will be missed."

All the dragons flared their wings,rose their heads and roared mournfully to the sky.

Every roar had its own song,every song had its own sound and every sound forged into a mournful tune for the loss of another of their kind and a friend.

* * *

Frendyr

_I hope I didn't turn his entire being into ash_ Frendyr thought. After carrying Zekos' body,not counting the amount of times when he would grab a part of his body only for it to disintegrate,to his cave he could now proceed to take Zekos' power. Lowering his head,he brought his snout to Zekos' body and tipped it over so he was laying on his back.

He then took one claw and placed it on Zekos' neck then in one quick slash dragged his claw from Zekos' neck to his underbelly,making a deep and long gash. He pushed the skin apart then put his snout inside Zekos' body. He moved his snout around,not fazed at all by the guts and other stuff that was brushing against him,until he felt a big lump. He gently clamped his jaws around the lump then yanked it out Zekos' body and dropped it on the cave floor,revealing his heart.

It was not much bigger than his foot,it was a vivid red and dried out so much that Frendyr could see the veins bulging through it.

_If someone were to tell me that Zekos had a strong power,I would not know by looking at his heart_ Frendyr mused.

A dragon's heart and,to a certain extent,blood was the safehold of a dragon's power. If the heart ever weakened due to bad health so would the dragon's power. He had learnt from his father and from ancient writings from a cave not too far from his mountains,that took much longer than he would like it to,that a dragon's power could be transferred to another dragon. All the dragon had to do was eat the heart of the dragon with the desired power. There were two catches however. The dragon had to kill the other dragon in order for it to transfer to that dragon and the dragon must eat the heart just after the kill otherwise the power would be weak. It was a forbidden ritual and he wouldn't be surprised if the other dragons didn't know about it or just didn't want to do it.

_Once I become the strongest dragon alive,they'll wish they had done what I had done._

Looking at the heart one last time,he brought his snout down and ate the heart in one gulp. Frendyr grimaced at the taste of the heart. It was soft like fresh snow,completely flavorless and slippery. Kind of like Zekos himself Frendyr thought and he couldn't help but chuckle. A few more seconds of chewing then he swallowed and waited for the magic to begin.

He didn't have to wait long.

He felt his blood begin to boil and a painful sensation rippled across his entire body,like a dragon was repeatedly slashing their claws across his body. His body gave away to the sensation as he collapsed onto the ground while growling in agony. After what seemed like an eternity,the painful sensation slowly faded away and was replaced with the shocking electrifying feeling of Zekos' power.

He slowly pushed himself to his feet then roared just as electricity exploded and rippled across his body.

His entire body felt as if he went into the High Heavens then come back to the mortal world.

He felt like he was reborn.

_ Yes! This power was made for me not some puny dragon as Zekos!_ Frendyr thought to himself. He walked to the edge of the cave then leaped into the air and flew.

_Now it's time to test these new powers._

He looked around until he found a lone tree,took a deep breath then blasted a huge bolt of lightning at it. The lightning hit the tree barely and a crack sounded before the tree fell onto the ground. _A few more days of training these powers and I'll be able to control it with ease_ Frendyr told himself. He angled his body and flew higher into the sky until he was above the clouds themselves. He then tucked his wings to his side,leaned his body backwards and dropped through the clouds.

He freefalled towards the ground,wings tucked to his body,and watched the rapidly approaching ground. When he was about a meter from the ground,he snapped his wings open,letting the wind raise him,as he let out a joyous cry. _I better go and bury Zekos' body before anyone tries to come looking for him_ Frendyr thought. He turned his body then flew back to his cave,unable to help blasting any trees or rocks he saw on the way with lightning. Once he got to the cave,he grasped Zekos' body with his talons then turned back and flew out the cave towards the small forest area in his territory.

He landed just in front of the forest then began digging through the snow and half frozen ground until he dug a deep enough hole. He grabbed Zekos and placed him in then pushed the snow over his body. Taking one last and through look at the cover up,he turned and leaped into the air flying back to his cave.

Once he got back,he was surprised to see two familiar dragons: Zygit the Powerful One and Uddrorath the Earthquake.

That surprise quickly turned to a boiling anger when he thought that they were here to take his territory or fight him. _Well,this is one fight that I have longed for_ he thought with a dark glee. He bared his teeth,growling,and flared his wings open slightly in a threatening manner. Uddrorath bared his fangs at him but Zygit simply placed his wing on his brother's shoulder while looking at Frendyr.

"Stand down Frendyr the Dark."he said. Though nothing changed in Zygit's voice changed,Frendyr knew that that was an order which only made Frendyr more furious. "You are in my territory Zygit. It would be wise not to order me to do anything."he said. He expected Zygit to lash out at the not so subtle threat or insert his dominance on him but all he did was simply shook his head in understanding. "Very well Frendyr."

Uddrorath looked at his brother in disbelief but complied. "With all that aside now,why are you two here?"he asked. "We're here because we want to know why you killed Zekos."Zygit said. Frendyr snorted. "If you must know Zygit,he came into my territory uninvited and threatened to kill me to get my territory."he replied. "Even after a century you still can't come up with a better excuse."Uddrorath said. "Silence Uddrorath!"Zygit ordered. Uddrorath glared at his brother for a long moment then compiled. "Even after a century,you still can't help but obey your brother like a human's pet."Frendyr said and felt an immense wave of satisfaction when Uddrorath whirled his head at him and growled.

"Frendyr."Zygit said,a warning tone in his voice. Frendyr simply turned to Zygit with a look of defiance. "Even if Zekos came to your territory without your permission,did you have to kill him?"Zygit asked. Frendyr looked at Zygit in pure confusion. "What do you mean by that?"he asked. "I mean,even if Zekos came into your territory does that essentially mean you have to kill him?"Zygit repeated patiently.

Frendyr couldn't believe what he hearing.

_How is he our leader when all he thinks of is peace_ he thought to himself. "Zygit,I don't know if you were aware of this but I am a dragon who follows his natural instincts to survive. That means if a dragon or anything that is a threat comes into my territory without my consent,I kill it on sight. If it makes you feel any better,I offered Zekos the chance to leave peacefully twice."he added nonchalantly.

"You see brother! He is no longer someone who can be reasoned with. He is Osot reborn!"Uddrorath said. Zygit looked at Frendyr straight into his eyes,his own searching for something on Frendyr who,if he had to be honest with himself,he did not like the way Zygit was staring at him.

Like he was staring right into his very being.

He stared at him for so long that Frendyr began to feel extremely uncomfortable. Even Uddrorath looked between them with a look of uncertainty. Finally,Zygit spoke as he moved to the entrance of the cave. "I see. Well,I only came here to give you one final warning. If you kill another dragon unless in self defense or to save your life,we will have no choice but to take action."

"Is that a threat Zygit?"Frendyr asked,snarling. Zygit turned his head back to him. "Take it as you wish Frendyr but heed it wisely." With that,he leapt out the cave and flew off with Uddrorath trailing behind as Frendyr thought of what Zygit said.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zala

"Father,I think you should wear your winter coat."a young woman named Zala said.

She was watching as her father,Nick,was putting on a light and thin coat that definitely wasn't made for winter. "What?"he asked confused before looking at the coat he put on and laughed. "Well that would've ended in a disaster. Thanks sweetie." "No problem father."Zala replied,shaking her head in amusement.

"Hopeful,the other merchants will be at the meeting spot when we get there."Nick said as he pulled his hat over his head. Her father was a merchant. In her town there were two types of merchants: A meersenier and a koopman.

A meersenier merchant were local traders,such as bakers or grocers,and stayed within town to trade. A koopman were travelers who operated on a global scale,meaning they imported and exported things over vast distances. Her father was a koopman merchant and,since he didn't have a son follow his legacy,so was she. If someone were to ask her if she liked being a merchant she would tell them that she did like it. Her father was also apart of a merchant guild known as the GoldenGoods who oversaw that their practices within this town as well as their two neighboring towns,Aswoll and Ingius.

"I'm sure they'll be there,father."Zala told her father.

_Probably before we even get out of this house_ she thought to herself.

Her father pulled on his boots,tied them tightly then placed his gloves on his hands. "Alright,let's get going before they leave us."her father said. She nodded then they walked through the door. T

he snow was falling lightly from the sky producing a thin layer on the ground as a light and chilly breeze blew them wayward. Zala took a breath of the fresh,crisp air and sighed blissfully. On the brink of dawn,the town was just getting ready for another day in the market. Meerseniers were setting up their booth to sell goods,fortune tellers were waiting to tell the fortunes of customers and knights of king Dra were patrolling the market.

Many of the merchants waved or greeted them as they passed by. Two knights were stationed by the entrance of the town when they arrived. "Good morning Nick,Zala."one of them greeted. Most of the knights knew Nick and her from their countless ins and outs from the town. "Morning sers. Lovely winter morning it is today."Nick said as Zala waved politely.

"Not to me. I'd rather be at the castle or at home near a fire."one of them said. "I must confess,I would like that as well but when duty calls we must answer."Nick said and all three shared a laugh. "Alright Nick you can go but be careful. The roads will be icy and there are strong snowstorms up those mountains."the knight said before they stepped out his way. "Thank you sers. I shall be sure to heed your warning well."Nick said then they walked pass the entrance of the town.

They walked across the barren snow layered ground for about five minutes before they reached the treeline of the forest. A huge cart with two large horses attached to it and three men on the cart waiting before the treeline.

One of them spotted her and Nick and waved. "There you are Nick. I was starting to think you weren't coming."the man,who was named Stan,said. "And disappoint our guild? Ha! Fat chance my friend."Nick replied with a laugh. Stan looked over at Zala and inclined his head respectfully. "Morning Zala." "Morning Stan,Louis."Zala said to them. Stan looked over at the young man next to him. "Say hello to Zala,Grant."he told him. Grant turned to Zala,though he didn't make eye contact,and said softly,"Good morning Zala." "Good morning too you to Grant."Zala replied.

He nodded then quickly turned away. Zala knew that once she had turned eighteen,her father started to find suitable husbands to marry her off to and thought Grant would be a suitable husband. The son of a merchant,part of the same guild and his father was a good friend to Nick it made Grant perfect type of husband.

Well,almost perfect.

Grant didn't have the other physics of most men. He wasn't wealthy enough to support her,didn't have any land or fame of his own and,quite frankly,didn't have the brute strength to defend her if need be. But she knew her father would overlook those problems if Grant proved to be a good suitor. Grant didn't seem like he opposed the idea of marrying but she didn't want to marry him or anyone as she believed that she was too young to have her life decided and taken from her.

At the very least,she wanted a few years to live a life of freedom and no responsibilities before deciding to marry. _Sadly,unless a miracle were to show itself,I am bound to this way of life._ "Alright,let's get going. Last thing I want is for the guild to lecture us about being on time."Louis said. Nick climbed onto the cart before turning and helping Zala up.

Once they were safely on the cart,Stan took a whip and hit the horses' flank and they trotted off. "I don't think we should take the path through the forest Louis."Grant told him. "And why is that boy?"Louis asked,looking both confused and annoyed. "While we were at the guild earlier I heard the other merchants talking about an enormous winged beast that lived in the mountains and guarded its territory mercilessly. They say those that take the path through the forest and go up the mountains are bound to be knocking at death's door."Grant said.

There was a pause of silence before Stan,Louis and Nick roared with laughter.

"Oh you silly boy. There are no enormous winged beasts in the mountains. Sure there are wolves,snow leopards and other beasts but they're nothing we can't handle."Louis told him. "I think you should stop listening to the stories they tell at the guild."Stan said. Grant lowered his head to the ground in embarrassment and Zala couldn't help but feel bad for him.

She reached over and lightly put her hand on his shoulder watching as he lifted his head to look at her. "If an enormous winged beast does appear,I'll feel safer with you near to protect me."she said to him softly.

He nodded and smiled warmly at her. She glanced at the side to see her father watching them with a small smile. Not trying to give him any ideas,she removed her hand from Grant's shoulder and turned her gaze to the surrounding trees near them.

Wondering if there was some truth to Grant's warning and if they were walking into their death.

* * *

Frendyr

To say that he was in a bad mood was an understatement.

The entire floor of his cave was covered in scratch marks and the stones were charred black from the flames he blew at them. During his sleep,all he dreamt of was ripping Zygit's heart from his chest and seeing the life drain from his very eyes. Once he woke up,however,he remembered everything that happened the night before and it didn't help.

He was livid at the fact that Zygit thought he could come into his territory and threaten him! He wanted nothing more than to find Zygit and burned him the same way he burned Zekos.

_ I need to get out before I do something I may or may not regret_ Frendyr thought.

He turned to the entrance of the cave and launched himself out. He bellowed out a furious roar as he flew over his territory with nothing in mind but to evaporate his flaring anger. _Zygit will surely be the first to go down to the High Heavens when I get all the power I need_ Frendyr thought with a dark smile. _Then I will take his place as the leader of the dragons._

"Ha! Nick I would want nothing more than for your daughter to marry my son. She'd make the perfect wife for him and I've been wanting to be a father-in-law." He was so in his thoughts that he barely even registered the voices from below him. He stopped flying and hovered in the air. He moved his ear around as he listened for the voices below. "Father,please stop."a voice said.

His ear caught the voices and his head whirled around. The voices were directly below him. He smelt the air and nearly balked in the air.

That scent,undoubtedly,belonged to no other creature than a human!

Of all the creatures that ever passed in his territory,humans very seldom even came near his territory let alone went in it._ It seems the humans are getting bolder now_ Frendyr told himself. That made his already bad mood even worse. He already had dragons coming into his territory and he didn't need humans coming in it too.

Luckily it was easy to scare the humans or send a message.

That was exactly what he was going to do.

He twisted his body around then dove over to the open space beside the forest area. He then ran through the forest,making sure his wings were tucked close to his body so they didn't snag on trees and smelling the air. After a minute of running,the humans came into view. There were five of them in those transport things that humans use to go from one place to another. Four of them were males and one was female. He was slightly surprised by this considering that when the humans came by they were always males.

_It doesn't matter if they're male or female,he told himself. Every single one of them is going to die today._

He crouched his body close to the ground and waited for the horses to get in his path before he launched from his cover. He snapped his jaws on the neck of one of the horses and slashed his claws at the other,ending the creature's life in a matter of seconds,then slowly turned his head to the humans. He saw their expressions of pure terror and took an extreme delight to seeing that his appearance alone installed pure terror.

"I-It's the winged beast!"one of the males cried in fear. Frendyr threw back his head and laughed,long and loud. "To be more precise,human,I'm a dragon."he said to them. All they could do was gaped at him before he lunged his jaws at one and trapped it in his jaw. The others screamed in terror as Frendyr tossed the human in the air then swallowed it whole. He tasted the human's blood run down his throat and he shivered with glee.

He lifted his foot up then brought it down on the human's transport thing as three of the humans managed to jump out of it. He quickly turned his head and snatched one of the humans in his jaw and swallowed him whole. He saw the other two standing a good distance from him,simply staring at him and trembling in fear.

Before they could even move a muscle,he leaped towards them and pinned them underneath his front feet. "Please dragon. Spare us!"the male cried terrified. "Silence human!"he roared. That made him instantly shut his mouth. Frendyr lowered his head closer to the female. While there was a lot of fear in her eyes,Frendyr could also see something else within them.

Something he had never seen in all the humans he had slain in his whole long lifetime: Awe.

That peaked his curiosity. Unlike the other humans,he didn't feel the need to kill her or even wanted too. He could tell there was something different about her and it intrigued him immensely.

_Still I cannot let her walk out of here like she owns my territory_ he told himself.

Then an idea popped in his mind.

Lifting his foot off the male,he placed one of his claws right on the male's chest,dug it inside his skin then slowly moved his claw from his chest to his flank while the human screamed in agony. "Stop it! You're hurting him!"the female cried but Frendyr paid her no mind. Once he was satisfied with the scar,he removed his claw from the human.

"I will spare you little human but I am keeping the female."he said. "No! You can't take her!"the male cried. "Oh? Is that so human?"Frendyr growled. He stomped his foot onto the human hard enough that he screamed. "I am the ruler of these mountains and everything in,near and between them. My wings can create winds stronger than you could imagine,my teeth and claws are sharper than any blade a human could use and my breath could burn entire cities to ash." Frendyr lowered his head until the human's face was bare inches from his teeth. "You dare tell me that I can't take this female,human?"he said in a cold voice.

The human did not respond. "Good boy,"Frendyr said in a sickeningly sweet voice then rose his head up while removing his foot from the human's body. "As I said before. I will spare you human but I am keeping the female. I am feeling rather merciful today so you should feel grateful that I'm not killing you right here for disrespecting me."Frendyr said.

The human nodded,clutching his bloodied clothes to his wounds as he slowly got up. "And one more thing human,"Frendyr said as the human backed away from him. "Tell any human you meet to never come near these mountains or they will all die." The human's skin paled as white as the snow as he nodded before turning and running away. Once the human was gone,Frendyr turned his gaze to the female below him.

"You are going to be a lot of fun for me."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zala

Her brain could not process what had just happened in the last few minutes.

She had been in a merchant's cart with her father,his friends and her friend's son riding towards Ignius when out of nowhere a dragon appeared before them!

The dragon killed her father and his friends,wounded Grant and took her away. She never believed in dragons or thought that they even existed,that they were only in stories to scare children,but here she was. Held by her coat in the jaws of a dragon itself as it flew wherever.

At the moment,she didn't know what she was more afraid of: The fact that she was being carried by a dragon or that she might fall and be plummeting to her death. She looked down then immediately turned her head back up and closed her eyes,softly sending a prayer to the gods above.

* * *

She didn't know how much time passed but at some point she felt solid ground beneath her feet. She opened her eyes and saw that they were in an enormous cave filled with gold and a few charred bones here and there. She knew without a doubt that this dragon stole the gold.

_At least I know that the stories of dragons stealing gold is true_ she thought.

"Have you not seen gold before female?"the dragon asked,his voice echoing through the cave. She turned around and saw the dragon. The mere sight of the dragon made her freeze in terror. He must've seen her fear for he smiled,exposing his long sharp fangs. "Do I scare you,human?"he asked. She only stared at him,wide-eyed in terror. The dragon lowered his head until his fangs were just inches from her face. "Well,do I?"he asked.

She opened her mouth to speak but words would not come. The dragon rose its jaws from near her and chuckled,a deep rumble that reminded her of thunder. "Your silence is answer enough."he said. "Though do not make this a habit. I want an answer when spoken too."he added. She nodded her head vigorously,still unable to speak. "Good."he said. "Now that that's out of the way,welcome to your new domain."

He stretched his wing towards the cave. "You will be staying here until I see fit." Upon hearing that,Zala looked at the dragon in surprise. "My domain!"she exclaimed,completely forgetting about her fear.

"Yes your domain."the dragon repeated,slightly annoyed. "No,no,no,no! I refuse to be kept here like some caged animal! You can't do this!"she protested. The dragon lowered his head until his fangs were before her face bared in a snarl. "I already told that male human once and I'll tell it again. I am a dragon and what I want,I take it. No questions asked."

He moved his teeth from her and turned his head so one giant yellow eye was staring at her. "If you ever tell me what I can or cannot do you will meet the same fate as those other humans."he threatened. Sweat beaded Zala's forehead as her body trembled slightly in fear. He moved his head from her and walked deeper into the cave. "I suggest you rest up female."he said casually as he laid down on the floor. Zala looked at the mouth of the cave for a moment,debating if to escape,but decided against it.

She knew it would be foolish to try anything with the dragon watching her. She would have to wait until the dragon fell asleep or left the cave. She walked over to the gold on the cave,sat down then laid on her side. The gold was extremely uncomfortable but it was much better than laying on the cave floor. She placed her head on top of her hands,closed her eyes and waited for sleep to overcome her.

* * *

Hours must've passed before Zala woke up. She yawned loudly then rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She then looked around,blinking her eyes rapidly to push away the blurriness,and realised something was missing.

The dragon was gone.

She jolted upright as the realization dawned on her. _This is a dream_ she told herself. _It has to be._ She moved her hand to her arm and pinched herself. Wincing from the slight sting,she looked around and saw everything was the same.

She was not dreaming.

_ Now is my chance!_

She quickly got up her sore body protesting from the uncomfortable "bed",and walked over to the cave entrance. Before walking out of the cave,Zala turned back and looked at the gold. She knew she would need gold to buy food,clothes and other stuff but decided not to give the dragon a bigger reason to chase her.

She took a step out of the cave and nearly turned around to go back into the cave. The bright glare of the evening sun practically blinded her momentarily. The wind was biting cold and so strong that she thought she was going to go flying and the snow was icy enough that one wrong step and she would be sliding down the mountain. Carefully and slowly,she walked down the mountain as the wind pushed her side to side. She looked up to the sky every few minutes before continuing to walk down.

_Just a bit more and I'll be free_ she told herself happily. After some time,when she was a bit above the halfway point,a loud roar echoed from somewhere in the distance. Zala quickened her walk to a trot,making sure not to fall or slip. A minute later,a large black silhouette flew over her.

_It won't be long before he notices I'm gone._

Merely seconds afterward,a blood curdling roar bellowed throughout the entire mountain.

Zala broke into a full on run.

She didn't even care if she fell or slipped. All she cared about was getting away from the dragon before he caught her again. At some point,her foot crossed onto a patch of ice and she slipped,tumbling down the mountain unable to tell up from down as she rolled. At last,she slowly stopped rolling as she reached the mountain's base. She slowly got her feet,slightly wobbling in the process,then took a few deep breaths before continuing to run.

"Get back here female!"the dragon's voice roared. Zala looked over her shoulder and gasped. The dragon wasn't far behind her and,even with their distance apart,she could see the anger in his face and eyes. She looked back ahead of her and saw only an open plain of snow as far as her eye could see. Zala knew she wouldn't be able to outrun the dragon in the open and needed to run through somewhere with close quarters.

She looked around and then spotted a forest to her right. _The trees might just slow him down or,if I'm lucky,might snag his wings._ Without a second thought,she made a hard turn right and dashed to the forest. Her lungs were on fire and she was forced to take shallow breaths. _Don't stop,don't stop_ she chanted to herself forcing herself to continue running despite her legs protesting.

The forest was becoming closer rapidly. She looked behind her and saw the dragon was no longer behind her. _Where did he go_ Zala wondered. She knew that the dragon wasn't going to give up that easily but she didn't see him anywhere. Pushing away the thoughts,she turned forward and half stumbled half-ran. She got close enough to think she might escape when the dragon arrowed down from the sky and landed in front of the forest.

She went to a full stop,causing her to fall down heavily,but barely missed the snapping jaws of the dragon. "Hello female."the dragon said. She didn't even have time to think of a response as he grabbed her by her coat in his jaws and took off.

Away from the forest.

Away from her one chance of escaping.

* * *

"Just what did you think were doing?"the dragon growled,his voice was deathly low. Zala could tell that he was furious but at the moment,she couldn't care less. "I refuse to be caged in here! I have a right to my freedom and you can't keep me here!"she exclaimed. The dragon brought his jaw before her face and roared.

His hot breath warmed her freezing body so fast it felt as though she was burning and the air was so strong it nearly threw her off her feet. "How many times do I have to tell you,female,that I can do as I please?"the dragon growled. Her body locked in terror,making her unable to speak. The dragon looked at her for a long moment before moving his jaw away from her. "You are becoming more trouble than you're worth female. If you try to escape again,I will not hesitate to kill you."he threatened.

Zala couldn't believe her bad luck. Not only did she lose her one chance at freedom,she had lost her little bit of family left. Her entire body felt numb and at the moment she couldn't even think. Exhaustion along with numbness took hold of her body as she zombie-walked over to her "bed" and laid down as sleep took her in a matter of seconds.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Frendyr

The female was proving to be difficult.

He knew that humans were troublesome creatures but this female was taking the load of it.

_In all of my life,I have never had my patience tested to such an extent._

The human confused him,one moment acting terrified of him then the next she had the audacity to defy his orders. It took all of his self control not to snap the female's body in half. Needing some quiet to think he shuffled his body in front of the cave mouth,using the bulk of his body to block the cave entrance,and rested his head on the ground.

He had just closed his eyes to rest when he heard a soft sob.

Shooting his head up,alert and ready,he looked around his cave for the threat or to see if the human was trying to escape again. He saw nothing out of the ordinary in his cave so he knew that there was no intruder in his cave. He then moved his glance to the female. She was still within the corner of the cave curled in a ball on top of his gold. While he couldn't see her face clearly due to his body blocking most of the light from coming in his cave,his sharp eyesight and scent was enough for him to see her tears and smell the salt from them as they washed down her cheeks.

The realisation soon dawned on him that she was crying as the humans called it. He understood sadness and grief and expressed those emotions as only a dragon could,therefore he struggled to understand her emotional state as he had no experience in dealing with human emotions.

As he watched the saddened female,he felt something inside of him pull him towards her. Insisting that he try and do something to help her. Growling softly to himself,he pushed the feeling away and turned to the human. "Cease your whining."he ordered the female before resting his head on the ground and letting sleep take him.

* * *

It must've been hours later when he stirred from his slumber. He raised his head and yawned loudly,flashing his long and deadly teeth. Then,he turned his attention to the female.

She was still within her corner of the cave no longer curled into a ball but laid on her side. By her slow,soft,rhythmic breathing,he assumed that she was still asleep and decided to get a better look at her. She was a thin and tallish person for her species as her skin was a light cream color and her hair was long and as dark as the night sky. Upon closer inspection,he realised that her cheeks were becoming hollower and her skin much paler. He then remembered that the female had not eaten anything since he had captured her.

If she was to stay here with him,he would have to hunt for her as well. He sighed in exasperation as he heaved up from the ground. Taking one last look at the female,to make sure she was asleep,he leaped out the cave and took to the skies. He lazily flapped his wings as he flew down to the base of his mountain towards the forest section. He sniffed the air as he flew trying to track the scent of any animal for the female to eat.

Seconds afterward he caught the scent of a herd of elk west to him. Sharply turning his body to the left,he flew towards the scent of the elk herd and watched the forest closely before finding a herd of about ten elks walking up north. Angling his body he tucked his wings to his body and dived towards the elks,who were unaware of him coming until he swooped in and scooped up three of them. He held one of them in his jaw while holding the other two in his talons as he turned and flew back to the cave.

Along the way back,he took a big sniff of the air and realised his territory markings were low. _I'll have to remark those markings soon._ Once he got close to the cave,he hovered before the entrance and tossed the elk carcasses inside,where it landed with a dull thud,before he landed inside the cave. He looked at the female and saw that she was still asleep,so he walked over to her and softly prodded her with his snout.

She mumbled a few inaudible words then went quiet once more. Annoyed,he prodded her once again more roughly. He saw her slowly open her eyes and looked at him for a moment before a look of terror crossed over her face and she jumped away from him. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face as he regarded the sacred female.

_ If only dragons could be frightened so easily by my mere appearance_ Frendyr thought wistfully.

"Eat."he said simply,kicking the elk carcass before her. The female stared blankly at the elk for such a long amount of time that Frendyr thought she was ignoring him. Eventually,she reached out towards the carcass and pushed it away from her. "I'm not hungry."she said.

Anger instantly flared within him.

_ How dare this human push away the food that he hunted for her!_

"Very well. If you wish to starve then,by all means,starve."Frendyr growled angrily then turned away from the female. He laid down beside the two elk carcasses,grabbed one of them in his jaws and viciously tore it apart. As he ate,he watched the female from the corner of his eye as she turned around and stared at the carcass.

_How long does she intend to just stare at the carcass_ Frendyr thought. At some point as he ate his jaw snapped the bones of the elk and he noticed the female wince. He smiled slightly to himself,enjoying the uneasiness he placed upon her. She then raised her head and stared dead into his eyes. Usually when someone stared at him in such a manner as the female was he would take it as a challenge and instantly attack or snap at them. For some strange reason,however,Frendyr did feel the urge to attack or even snap at her.

Her stare actually calmed him.

_What I'm I thinking_ he thought angrily to himself. _A mere human cannot calm me down I could destroy cities in my rage and she never calm me down!_ However,he didn't break away from the female's gaze who hadn't blinked in a long moment. After what seemed like an eternity,the female averted her gaze from his and turned her back to him then laid back down onto the gold. Frendyr snorted in annoyance then went to eat the other elk,thinking.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Zygit

His body ached and he could hear his bones crack with every slight move he made. _This is the unfortunate process of aging_ Zygit thought to himself as he flew over the trees of his territory with a dead,bloodied wild boar in his jaws.

He looked down at the trees below him,waiting until he saw the trees disperse more and more before a clearing appeared in this sight. He tucked his wings close to him and dove towards the clearing,wind whistling past his face,until he near the ground then snapped open his wings and landed heavily on the ground. He walked through the clearing and saw his and Uga's den. He stopped far from the densite,dropped the boar before him and let out a deep,guttural growl before sitting in front of the den and waited.

A high pitched cry sounded from in the cave,near that of a squeal. He could hear the scuffling of feet as Uga appeared from the cave. The sunlight raying down onto them sparkled onto her purple scales,making her look like her scales were amethyst gems. She stood in front of the cave mouth,her body tensed and her teeth bared in a snarl. Zygit was used to this reaction he got from her everytime he came to the den. All female dragons after mating became very aggressive and highly defensive when any creature,including a mate,approached the nest.

He simply lowered his head to the ground and nudged the boar forward. She looked at him for a split second then hesitantly walked forward and sniffed the boar. She then looked at him and moved slightly to the side,granting him access to go in. He nodded and crawled inside the cave,his horns scraping against the top of the cave. As he got deeper inside the cave,the lights got brighter and he felt the air around him get slightly warm. Soon he arrived at the end of the cave to reveal a nest.

It was built like a cave with a small squarish space at the front for the hatchlings to come out of once they hatched around the two white eggs that were about the size of Zygit's foot. "How are the eggs faring?"he asked Uga. "They're ok. If the heat has been consistent,they should hatch today or tomorrow."Uga replied as she laid near the nest and curled her body close around it. "Hopefully they'll be well and healthy."Zygit said as he laid down before the nest,staring at the low flames from the rocks.

"Zygit,"Uga said. "How did the talk with Frendyr go?" Zygit sighed heavily. "I do not know if he will heed my warning. All young ones are the same: Ignorant,simple-minded and foolish."Zygit said. He wouldn't be surprised if Frendyr didn't take his warning seriously.

_This time,I will make sure he knows I was serious_ Zygit told himself firmly.

"Do you know why he has been killing our kin?"Uga asked. "I do not know Uga. Frendyr is as mysterious as the wind and sky. All I do know is that if Frendyr kills another dragon,I will do what has long been overdue."Zygit replied. The two fell into a tense for a long moment when suddenly a crack filled the silence. "Uga...did you hear that?"Zygit asked. The look on her face suggested that she indeed heard the noise too. He moved his gaze to the nest on saw a crack on both the eggs. "It...it is happening."Uga said,her voice hushed as if she was afraid that her voice would break the moment. More small cracks appeared on the eggs and instantly one of them began rocking side to side. "Come on little one. You can do it."he whispered encouragingly.

The egg rocked harder,as if it heard him,for a few mere seconds before it broke apart to reveal a baby dragon.

Upon first glance,Zygit saw that the hatchling was a male. He had light blue scales with a beige underside,had black claws,spikes along the back,white fur at the tip of his tail and four horns on his head,two at the top and two behind those. The hatchling slowly got to its legs and yawned before he turned his head to him and Zygit was able to see his yellow eyes. The sound of the other egg breaking made him break his gaze from his son to the other hatchling who was a female. She had blue scales with a light underside,had purple eyes and black claws,white fur along the membrane of her wings and two horns that curved slightly upward. He then realised that the male was a drake and the female was a wyvern.

"They're beautiful."Uga said in a hushed voice. Zygit looked at his mate and saw her watching the hatchlings with so much love that only a mother could give. He looked back at the hatchlings and he felt ecstatic pride and jog swelling in his chest as he gazed upon his son and daughter lovingly. The female slowly tried to stand on its feet but couldn't get her balance right and fell flat on her face. The male turned to its sibling and walked over to her as fast as his wobbly legs could take him and nudged her. The female made a few squeaks noises and the male responded before moving next to her and laying down beside her.

Uga moved towards the hatchlings,putting the bulk of her body before them,and curled her body close around them. "What shall we name them?"she asked him while keeping her eyes on them. Zygit walked over to his mate,laid down beside her while curling his body around her,radiating his warmth to her,as he looked at the two hatchlings. He remembered a story his old one once told him and his brother of a dragon named Gardos who managed to rule the dragons through an era of prosperity. "Why don't we name the male Gardos?"Zygit suggested. "Gardos,"Uga repeated.

"I think that will be a great name for him. And we will name the female Olla after my little sister."she said. "Gardos and Olla,"Zygit said as if he were tasting the meat of his prey before deciding to eat it. "They will make fine leaders for the dragons." Almost on cue,Gardos lifted his head and gazed at his father,looking at him with such an understanding as if he understood what his father was saying. "In fact,"he added,never breaking his gaze from his son. "They might even change our world for the better."

* * *

Frendyr

The rays of dawn were descending upon the mountains. Frendyr laid in his cave,growling as he snored. He was simply dozing,his eyes only half closed,blocking the world around him but still keeping alert as he pondered about the female.

The elk that he had hunted still laid before her not even touched. He knew she was hungry by the constant growling of her stomach that made him think the first few times there was a dragon nearby. _A stubborn creature that female_ Frendyr thought. _That stubbornness might be her downfall however._ He was debating with himself if he should keep her alive or not. After all,she was simply a mere human and had nothing to offer him in the foreseeable future. He sighed heavily through his nostrils. To preoccupy his jumbled mind,he decided to practice using his lightning powers.

Lifting himself from the cave floor he turned his head back to the female,thinking if to wake her,but thought against it. He leapt from the edge and glided down the base of the mountain to his forest,sticking close to the mountain in case the human woke up and decided to do something foolish. He summoned the lightning from within him. Seconds afterward he felt the familiar sensation of the electricity rippling across his body,and opened his jaw to shoot lightning at the trees below. He managed to hit almost all of the trees with pinpoint accuracy for about five minutes when he decided he needed more of a challenge.

He scanned the forest until he saw a pack of wolves. _Perfect_ he thought. From where he was in the sky,the wolves below looked like mere insects and only his sharp eyesight was able to even see them clearly. _Now I just have to get them on the run._ He let loose a thunderous roar and listened as it echoed across the sky. He looked at the wolves who undoubtedly heard his roar and instantly bolted off. He kept his focus on the fleeting wolves,opened his jaws then blasted his lightning at the wolves. He heard a pained whine from below and knew he hit one. Grinning to himself,he opened his mouth and blasted lightning once more at the wolves below.

He saw the lightning bolt hit one of the wolves as it collapsed on the ground. He continued the exercise until he had hit six of the wolves. _I finally have these lightning powers under my complete control_ he thought triumphantly. _Now I can move to the next power I need._ Frendyr looked down at the dead wolves and decided to bring them to his cave.

_After all,why should I waste good meat._

He arrowed down towards the ground,squinting his eyes against the rushing wind,then when he was close to the trees he snapped his wings open,hovered in the air and snatched all the wolves from the ground then twisted his body around and flew back to the cave. He sniffed the air as he flew back to the cave to see if the female escaped once again but smelled nothing. _It seems the female has finally learned her place_ Frendyr thought smugly.

It has long been past time too. Once he reached the cave,he hovered before the entrance and tossed the wolves inside the cave before going inside. "Father?"a voice mumbled. He turned to the female and saw her stirring her in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him groggily. She rubbed her eyes and rapidly blinked as she stared at him. "Oh. It's you."the female said disappointed. Frendyr snorted. "Your father is gone. No amount of wishing can nor will change that."he said coldly. The female lowered her gaze to the cave floor and,while Frendyr couldn't see her face clearly,he saw the tears dropping from her face to the ground. Her crying was beginning to test his patience.

"Cease your whining. I do not need to hear your pathetic noises,female."he ordered. "My name is not female!"the female retorted angrily looking at him and he was fairly surprised,shocked even,to see the anger in her eyes. That surprise quickly faded away as he realised that the female had just talked back to him. "Careful female,"he warned. "I do not like the tone in your voice." The female opened her mouth,most likely to protest,and he took a step forward growling at her in warning. The female closed her mouth but kept her gaze to his. "Now,since you wish to so rudely exclaim about female not being your name,what is your name?"Frendyr asked her.

The female looked at him in thought then spoke. "I will only tell you my name if you tell me yours."she said,her voice trembling near the end.

Frendyr's anger instantly erupted.

_How dare she order him to give her his name. As if she is worthy enough to know it!_

He took a step closer to her and growled. "You will tell me your name regardless if I tell you mine."he snarled. "I will not tell you mine if you refuse to tell me yours!"the female protested defiantly. Rage exploded from the female's response. He roared in anger and lunged towards her. She tried to back away from him but he pinned her beneath his foot,pressing hard against her. "That is it female! You have tested my patience too many times and you must die!"he growled,the words barely recognisable through the rage in his voice.

"Then go ahead!"the female exclaimed. "My father is gone and my freedom is taken. What is there for me now?"she asked quietly,seemingly more to herself than him. Frendyr froze,his anger gone in the blink of an eye,as he looked at the female below him. Tears were flowing freely from her red,puffy eyes and running down her cheeks. She was laying limp underneath his foot,not even struggling a bit to get free.

She seemed broken,lost and...done.

A wave of sympathy crashed over him and he growled. He shouldn't feel sorry for a mere human especially for one who was constantly angering him. But the sense of sympathy would not leave him be for even in his rage he could not bring himself to...he couldn't.

He looked down at the female and his anger slowly rose. He needed to leave the cave now. He turned around and walked to the cave mouth then leapt out the cave. Twisting his body around,he flew north towards the human territory behind his mountains. _If I cannot kill the female then I shall burn this pathetic human territory to the ground!_ He tucked in his wings and dive towards the town,letting out a roar. The humans in their territory was soon aware of the commotion and,by a single look in the sky,began to scream in terror.

Frendyr saw females grabbing smaller humans and running off,males grabbing weapons and charging his way. Frendyr roared again as he neared the human territory,the wind from his wings making wooden caves creak and threatened to be blown away. Frendyr's eyes swept over every screaming face that bolted from him and it brought him a deep satisfaction.

But not enough to quell his frustration and anger.

With another thunderous roar,he flew over the humans then hovered over the bridge connecting their territory towards their king's territory. He saw the humans cower away from him,including the ones with weapons. He lifted his tail up and smashed it onto the bridge,creating a large gap in between and trapping the humans within. Once the bridge was destroyed Frendyr landed and turned his attention to the humans.

"You humans are nothing but pathetic vermins who's only existence is to disrupt the natural order of life!"he roared. "And for that,I will burn you all!" He launched himself back into the sky and with another terrible roar he unleashed the fire within him,chest burning,as the human's caves erupted into flames. The humans screamed as their homes and some of their kin were burned by his flames. Frendyr roared his dominance with utter surety.

This human territory was his to destroy and all the humans within his to kill! He swung his tail around into the human's caves,seeing them crumble under his might like the bones of animals he ate. Human males who didn't die charged at him,raising their blades high above their heads. He laughed,his laughter booming like thunder,amused.

_These humans must be delusional if they believe they can hurt me._

Frendyr snapped his head down towards the charging humans,clamping his jaws on three of the incoming humans,bringing his head back up. He shook his head violently,the bodies twisting while one half was stuck between his teeth,snapping the spine with a sickening crack until the bodies were torn in half and blood rained down on those below. Frendyr tasted the blood upon his tongue and his hunger became delighted by it! He threw his head and swallowed the little mouthfuls,however little meat,before turning to the other humans.

"Beast!"Frendyr heard one of the humans exclaim. "You have taken the lives of countless innocents! By our honour and might as knights of king Dagon,I swear we shall kill you foul beast!" "You pathetic vermins?!"Frendyr scoffed and then boomed his rumbling laughter. "I laid down tougher foes than the likes of you humans. You shall be no trouble at all." With that,he roared as he engulfed them in his flames,their screams being drowned out by the roar of his fires and their bodies turning into naught but ash.

He roared and released jets of flames at the rest of the town,a sinister glee coming from within him as he saw humans and their homes alike burn before him. Once everything had burned,he leapt into the sky and hovered above the human's territory surveying the death and destruction with glee. He turned his head around and looked ahead at the human's king's home in the far distance,his desire for destruction and gold almost irresistible. But he decided not to go. He already spent too much time here and he wouldn't put it past the female to try and escape once again. Plus,he wanted the king to see the destruction upon his people.

To know they were powerless against a force like him.

With a malice smile on his face he twisted his body and flew back to his cave,leaving the human's territory in ashes and flames.


End file.
